Invisible experts: The curious case of the book knower in Iran

Abstract

This article explores the curious case of the ketab shenass (book knower), a figure unique to the Iranian publishing industry. Ketab shenass play a crucial role in the production of translated books, yet their labor is invisible and uncompensated. A comparison of their expertise to that of their closest counterparts reveals that anxieties surrounding the politics of mediation undergird the invisibility of the labor of the ketab shenass.